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More than 40 STARWOOD HOTELS in the Middle East Join ASSOCIATE Fundraising Campaign to support unicef education project in ethiopia

More than 40 STARWOOD HOTELS in the Middle East Join ASSOCIATE Fundraising Campaign to support unicef education project in ethiopia

14-Jun-12

DUBAI, June 14, 2012 – More than 40 Starwood hotels across the Middle East are joining forces to support Starwood Hotels & Resorts’ 5th annual associate fundraising campaign ‘Road to Awareness’ through various local fundraising initiatives and events.

This year’s ‘Road to Awareness’ campaign raises money for UNICEF’s Early Childhood Care and Education programme in Ethiopia. The aim of the project is to provide the most disadvantaged children in rural communities with pre-primary education so they are better prepared to start going to school.

In Ethiopia, over 80 percent of the population live in rural communities and many children have to survive on less than US$1 a day. A lack of education and no access to pre-school is seen as one of the key barriers to a child not being able to reach their full potential and escape a life of poverty.

The money raised through Starwood’s ‘Road to Awareness’ campaign - which includes local fundraising initiatives across hotels in Europe, Africa and the Middle East as well as an annual fundraising bike ride - will help tackle this by giving thousands of the most vulnerable children in Ethiopia access to pre-school and the chance of a brighter future. Starwood’s support will contribute to the construction of 10 pre-schools, provide pre-school education to up to 50,000 children aged six and enable UNICEF to train 10,000 young instructors to aide their learning.

In 2011, Starwood raised over US$600,000 through the ‘Road to Awareness’ campaign which helped to support UNICEF projects in Romania and Pakistan, directly benefiting some 150 schools in these two countries. The hotels in the Middle East raised over US$180,000, beating the region’s original target of US$166,600. This year, 41 hotels and its associates aim to surpass last year’s achievement through initiatives as diverse as charity golf tournaments, cupcake bake sales, jazz galas, silent auctions, talent shows and more.

Guido de Wilde, Senior Vice President and Regional Director for Starwood Hotels and Resorts in the Middle East said of this year’s fundraising initiative: “This year, we have over 40 hotels in Middle East involved in creative and engaging ways of raising money for the incredible work carried out by UNICEF. The generosity and spirit demonstrated by Starwood associates across the region is truly inspiring and I’m honoured to be part of the team. This year, we’ve set our sights high in the hope of once again beating our target and making the largest regional contribution to the Road to Awareness campaign, which will help to make a real difference to the lives and futures of children who need it most.”

UNICEF UK Director and Chief Executive David Bull said: “UNICEF is incredibly proud of our long and successful partnership with Starwood Hotels and Resorts. Together, we are achieving phenomenal results for children. For over 16 years, our partnership has served as a strong and unique example of our shared values and commitment to creating a world fit for children.”

With the aim of raising additional funds for those children most in need, this year a group of cyclists consisting of senior leaders and other hotel representatives from across Starwood’s Europe, Africa and Middle East region will embark on the fifth ‘Road to Awareness’ bike ride challenge. Starwood has decided to take their brave riders a bit further and higher than ever before, travelling for four days over the hills of the Tour de France. The riders will start in Chamonix, finishing after a gruelling 570 kilometres in Monte Carlo where they will have climbed 170 kilometres and a gradient of 9,000 metres over the four day bike ride. Guido De Wilde, one of the pioneers of the ‘Road to Awareness’ initiative, and two other Middle East representatives, Nemo Acimovic, General Manager of Le Méridien Abu Dhabi and Szilveszter Toth, Food and Beverage Operations Manager of The Westin Dubai Mina Seyahi Beach Resort & Marina, will represent the Middle East.

“We believe that every child has the right to go to school. That is why we have chosen to focus on providing children in need with access to education. We are convinced that for these children education is the door that opens opportunities and will enable them to become fully independent members of society,” Roeland Vos, President of Starwood Hotels & Resorts for Europe, Africa & Middle East says. “It is thanks to the amazing efforts and ongoing commitment of our enthusiastic hotel teams, cyclists and supportive partners that, together with UNICEF, we will be able to make a huge difference to the lives of children in Ethiopia.”

In addition to the ‘Road to Awareness’ associate fundraising campaign, Starwood continues its on-going guest fundraising efforts for UNICEF through the ‘Check Out for Children’ programme, which launched in 1995. It is a partnership between Starwood Hotels & Resorts and UNICEF whereby guests at participating Starwood hotels around the world agree to the addition of US$1 (or local currency equivalent) to their bills when they check out. Last year, the ‘Check Out for Children’ programme celebrated a remarkable milestone with US$25 million raised through guest donations for children since the launch of the programme.

To learn more about the Road to Awareness please visit www.roadtoawareness.com

- Ends –

Notes to Editors:In 2011, Starwood raised more than $600,000 through the ‘Road to Awareness’ fundraising campaign in support of UNICEF projects in Romania and Pakistan.

In Pakistan, the funds were used to support five Sindh provinces, directly benefiting 7,500 children, and helped to: · Establish early childhood education spaces for children aged three to five years in these 50 schools by providing vital furniture, blackboards, sports equipment and computers; · Organise a ‘Back to School’ campaign for the Sindh communities using radio, posters and street theatre to communicate the importance of education,· Train 118 teachers on disaster risk reduction and child centered teaching methods.

In Romania, UNICEF was able to support some 100 schools in the poorest communities and helped to: · Provide classroom furniture, blackboards, sports equipment and computers to create a better learning environment and help encourage vulnerable children to go to school and reduce dropout rates; · Work with the local communities to encourage more Roma children to get an education and stay in school in order to tackle the problem of social exclusion of the Roma community.

About Check Out For ChildrenThe Check Out for Children partnership between UNICEF and Starwood Hotels & Resorts was launched in London in November 1995 by UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador Sir Roger Moore KBE. The programme now operates in over 250 hotels across Europe, Africa, the Middle East and Asia. In 2006, Starwood Hotels & Resorts won the UNICEF UK’s prestigious Corporate Partnership Award in recognition of its significant contribution to the work of UNICEF. The award, which is only granted every 10 years, is given as a way of acknowledging the exceptional contribution of an organisation to the fulfilment of UNICEF’s mission for children during the last decade. Since 1995, guests at participating Starwood hotels around the world have donated over US$25 million to UNICEF by agreeing to the addition of US$1 (or local currency equivalent) to their bills when they check out.

About Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide Inc.Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. is one of the leading hotel and leisure companies in the world with 1103 properties in 100 countries and territories with 154,000 employees at its owned and managed properties. Starwood Hotels is a fully integrated owner, operator and franchisor of hotels, resorts and residences with the following internationally renowned brands: St. Regis®, The Luxury Collection®, W®, Westin®, Le Méridien®, Sheraton®, Four Points® by Sheraton, and the recently launched Aloft®, and Element SM. Starwood Hotels also owns Starwood Vacation Ownership, Inc., one of the premier developers and operators of high quality vacation interval ownership resorts. For more information, please visit www.starwoodhotels.com.

About UNICEFUNICEF is the world’s leading organisation working for children and their rights in more than 190 countries. As champion of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, UNICEF works to help every child realise their full potential. Together with our partners, UNICEF delivers health care, nutrition, education and protection to children in urgent need, while working with governments to ensure they deliver on their promise to protect and promote the rights of every child. UNICEF relies entirely on voluntary donations from individuals, governments, institutions and corporations, and is not funded by the UN budget. For more information, please visit www.UNICEF.org.uk

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